Prince George, BC – Two Regional Workforce Tables, created at the start of last year, are out with five-year plans aimed at bridging the gap between jobs and skilled workers in Northern BC…

The RWTs were established by the provincial government for both the Northwest and Northeast regions and involved key stakeholders from industry, employers, labour, First Nations, training service providers, educators, and economic development organizations.  In releasing the regional skills training plans from both RWTs, the Ministry of Jobs, Tourism, and Skills Training says each plan, "focuses on aligning existing training programs to local jobs, and will help people take advantage of significant economic development opportunities that exist in Northern BC.

According on the Executive Summaries in the plans, the Northeast and Northwest are dealing with very different starting points.  Whereas the Northeast has been booming for over a decade, the Northwest is in the early stages of a projected boom in the mining and oil and gas sectors.  Consequently, the NE is characterized by low unemployment and high incomes.  While the NW area of the province has some of the highest unemployment rates in Canada, particularly among Aboriginal people who make up approximately 40-percent of the region’s population.

Based on provincial government labour market forecasts, both RWTs are conservatively expecting a gain of 6,000 jobs between 2010 and 2020.  An ‘Expected Scenario’ in the Northeast sees a slowdown in natural gas activity until 2015, then a sharp increase in jobs – as many as 15-thousand – resulting from Site C dam construction, the resurgence of the natural gas industry, and the ensuing pipeline projects to support the liquefied natural gas export industry.  An optimistic outlook by the Northwest RWT predicts as many as 13-thousand jobs if the major projects proposed for the region move forward.

Both Workforce Tables found a number of key gaps that need to be filled to ensure residents in the region have the skills and training needed to take advantage of these opportunities.

In the Northeast, key challenges include:

• training infrastructure – Northern Lights College requested capital funding in 2012 to support expansion and improvements to its trades training facilities.  The report says, "Without this funding, it has limited ability to expand its training capacity."
• shortage of trades instructors – training providers have difficulties filling positions in some high-demand occupations (occupations such as: industrial electricians; oil and gas drilling, servicing and related labourers; oil and gas drilling workers and service operators; underground mine service and support workers; oil and gas drilling and services supervisors)
• employer reluctance to release apprentices for training
• more pre-employment training – many potential workers are currently outside of the labour market and require significant skills upgrading before they can compete effectively for jobs
• agile, sustainable training development and delivery approaches are required – demand for skills and occupations changes rapidly in industries in the region; consequently, training needs to adapt more quickly.  training could be accelerated or condensed.

In the Northwest, the RWT identified 34 occupations which will be in high demand until 2020, but says many are highly skilled and require two to four years of training.  "It is unlikely that local labour supply will be available to fully meet demand in the short-term."  The occupations include careers such as: construction millwrights and industrial mechanics; central control and process operators in mining and mineral processing; electrical power line and cable workers; industrial instrumentation technicians and mechanics; steam fitters and pipe fitters; and welders and related machine operators.

The workforce table found that training for 21 of these 34 occupations currently exists in the region and in sufficient capacity to meet the anticipated demand.  For the remaining 13 occupations, the RWT found it might not make sense to develop local training, given the job demand projections for some are quite small.  The Executive Summary suggests regional training providers could could collaborate and create a targeted training program, or students could obtain their training elsewhere in the province.

Some of the major challenges facing the Northwest include:

• lower skilled people need specific, targeted help
• need for Aboriginal-specific actions – much of the industrial activity will take place on the traditional territories of Aboriginal people.  Those interviewed by the RWT believe that an effective training plan should include targeted actions that address the unique training needs of Aboriginal people.
• collaboration is essential – regular communication between industry training providers, the Industry Training Authority , and other interested parties to ensure training plans are aligned to meet employment opportunities
• shared responsibility – communities, families and individuals, as well as government and industry, work together to increase employment participation rates under a shared responsibility model.  Young people need support and encouragement to meet minimum educational standards and achieve high school graduation.

The Regional Skills Training Plans lay out a number of goals and actions meant to address these challenges between now and 2018 – all with an eye to increasing the pool of potential regional workers for these high demand occupations.

To view the Northeast Skills Training Plan, click here, and find the tab in the left-hand column.

To view the Northwest Skills Training Plan, click here, and scroll down to ‘Presentation and Reports’ section.